使
to make; to cause; to enable; to use; to employ; to send; to instruct sb to do sth; envoy; messenger
Closest English meanings
make·send·envoy·cause
The Calligrapher — Wáng Xīzhī 王羲之
The 'Sage of Calligraphy'; his running script has set the standard for 1,700 years.
Eastern Jin calligrapher (303–361), master of running script/cursive script/regular script — the Sage of Calligraphy; his Orchid Pavilion Preface is the most celebrated work in the tradition, and nearly every later master traces lineage to his hand. Eastern Jin dynasty
Cultural Story
使 is the envoy and the cause. The 史记 sends 使者 along the Silk Road; a king's 使命 is to bear a message of war or peace. The 论语 says rites 使 people orderly. To 使得 a thing happen is to move it from will to fact. A 大使 still represents a state abroad.
Common words & phrases
- 使用 use · employ
- 使者 envoy · messenger
- 使命 mission
- 迫使 force · compel
- 使得 cause · make
- 大使 ambassador
Read the story behind the character
The app 使用 a fingerprint to unlock; an 大使 meets the press. A deadline 迫使 the team to work late, and a note 使得 the plan change. At the desk a 使者 delivers a package. Causing, employing, and representing all pass through this busy official word.
Own this character
Purchase delivers the original SVG of this glyph, brushed by Wáng Xīzhī 王羲之, ready to place on skin, paper, or screen.